BIRMINGHAM, Ala.–Birmingham-Southern held
its annual Athletic Awards Banquet Monday evening in Bruno Great
Hall and named the 2013 Newcomers, Athletes, Teams, and Man and
Woman of the Year, as well as the Johnny Johnson Most Inspirational
Senior Student Athletes.

Junior sprinter Tiarra Goode and sophomore softball player
Taylor Bassett were named Co-Larry D. Striplin Female Athletes of
the Year, while runner Robert Willett was named Larry D. Striplin
Male Athlete of the Year.

Goode, who was also the Female Athlete of the Year in 2012,
recently won three SAA individual titles at the 2013 Track &
Field Championships, and has qualified for the upcoming national
championship in La Crosse, Wis. Bassett was the 2013 SAA Softball
Player of the Year after leading the nation in home runs and
breaking the BSC career home runs record as a sophomore. Willett
was also a three-time SAA champion two weekends ago at the SAA
Championship and has qualified for the upcoming national meet.

Freshmen Sara Cohen of women's tennis and Hannah Busk of
swimming and diving were Co-Female Newcomers of the Year, and
swimmer Duncan Bonney was the Male Newcomer of the Year. Cohen was
11-1 in singles and 10-2 in doubles play this year, and was
undefeated against SAA opponents. Busk was the SAA Swimmer of the
Year and Newcomer of the Year, as was Bonney on the men's side.

The Johnny Johnson Most Inspirational Senior Student Athlete
Awards went to Raeann Lamere of women's tennis and Andrew Huffman
of men's lacrosse. The Johnny Johnson Award is named for the late
Vice President for Business and Finance at Birmingham-Southern
College, who died suddenly from a heart ailment in 2001. Johnson
was an avid supporter of BSC athletics.

The BSC Man and Woman of the Year - new awards this year - were
Shelby Moore of volleyball and track & field, and Blaise White
of men's basketball. Moore was First-Team All-Conference in 2011
and 2012, and is also an All-Conference athlete in track &
field. White was the 2012 and 2013 conference Defensive Player of
the Year.

BSC also named its Teams of the Year, giving the award to
football, women's soccer, and women's golf. Football and women's
soccer were SAA regular season champions, while women's golf
recently earned an at-large bid to the upcoming NCAA Division III
Women's Golf Championship.

BSC's Athlete of the Year awards were named in honor of late
benefactor Larry D. Striplin, who passed away last year at the age
of 82. He was a 1952 graduate of Birmingham-Southern and is a
member of the BSC Sports Hall of Fame. Striplin served for many
years on the Birmingham-Southern Board of Trustees and was Chairman
of the Athletic Affairs Committee of the Board. The BSC baseball
field, Striplin Field, is named in his honor, as well as the Larry
D. Striplin, Jr. Physical Fitness and Recreation Center on the BSC
campus.